Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 267: Growth

As the highest temporary authority in the fortress, Lorianne could easily ascertain Sein’s whereabouts and activities.

A semi-transparent screen materialized before her, displaying an image of Sein intently working at his experiment table.

His research had progressed from enhancing the properties of spell models to delving into the profound mysteries of verdant flame magic.

Sein was not just exploring ways to augment his magic with verdant flame but also figuring out how to use it to temper his body.

He had previously witnessed how Master Gregory forcefully breached a planar barrier with his elemental body.

His unprecedented approach to combat and formidable elemental body had fundamentally shifted Sein’s perspective on the capabilities of mages.

Although Sein was not planning to replicate Gregory’s ways, he believed that learning the Verdant Flame Body Tempering could significantly benefit him at this point.

However, unraveling the specifics of this process to enhance his constitution would demand considerable time and effort.

“It’d be great if I could get in touch with Master Lorianne. She can probably offer deeper insights into verdant flame magic.” Sein sighed inwardly.

Unbeknownst to Sein, his mentor was actually watching him right now.

Lorianne‘s decision to utilize her authority within the fortress to monitor its interior fell squarely within her rights. Typically, however, the divine tower masters refrained from intruding upon the privacy of fellow mages.

The Magus World prided itself on an internal culture that was comparatively fair, democratic, and civilized.

Even mages of Rank Four and above were expected not to encroach upon the rights of the less powerful mages, particularly concerning privacy.

Exposure to such surveillance could deter lower-ranked mages from joining their divine tower, as privacy is highly valued, especially among those spellcasters devoted to research and knowledge.

Lorianne, with over nine thousand years of wisdom and a wealth of experiences, is well aware of this. Under normal circumstances or if it were someone else, she would not have done this.

However, Sein was her apprentice whom she treated like a family. This was also the reason why she did not care much about her image and would act casually in his presence.

Watching Sein mulling before his experiment table reminded Lorianne of her own challenges in the pursuit of truth when she was just a humble mage.

Thanks to her intelligence, as well as support from a knowledgeable mentor and caring seniors, she eventually managed to be promoted to Rank Four and establish her own divine tower.

Lorianne could also tell that Sein’s research was related to the verdant flame magic.

She would have been able to assist Sein if he were researching something else, but verdant flame magic was beyond her expertise.

As the youngest apprentice of Feylis the Rank Six grand mage, Lorianne stood apart from her seniors because she did not inherit Master Feylis’ specialty, which was the Verdant Flame magic. She had only inherited Master Feylis’ knowledge of dendro magic.

This divergence was partly Feylis’ intent to diversify her apprentice’s skills and partly due to Lorianne’s own lack of interest in pyro magic. Besides, her innate affinity with the pyro element was not that high in the first place.

After briefly observing Sein’s progress, Lorianne dismissed the magic projection.

While a mentor could guide, the journey of growth ultimately rested in the hands of the learner.

Sein’s future on the path of magic would ultimately depend on his own efforts and discoveries.

Lorianne had already done her part in requesting a crystal ball from Feylis that contained basic knowledge on verdant flame magic for Sein.

His success in this area, however, would hinge on his personal insight and creativity.

The Rank Four mage lowered her head thoughtfully as she considered how she could further assist Sein, then decisively removed the Sein’s crystal ball contact from the space fortress’ records.

This action was meant to shield him from distractions, particularly the mandatory war missions, thus allowing him to focus on his research.

After all, the primary reason for Sein’s presence was only to experience planar warfare and broaden his perspective, completing missions was only a secondary concern.

Shaking her head as she momentarily put aside Sein’s concerns, Lorianne turned her attention back to the responsibilities awaiting her in the fortress.

With Master Gregory and Master Bernice concentrating on the siege against Anridar the Venom Flame Demon King, Lorianne found herself managing the base’s affairs.

Initially overwhelmed by the solo leadership role in an interplanar war, Lorianne gradually adapted. Fortunately, Master Feylis’ fifth and sixth apprentices were there in the space fortress to support her. She was also thankful that the Viridian Venom Flame World was considered an easy plane to conquer.

After Master Feylis left the fortress, Lorianne managed to ease her into her role.

Both Lorianne and Sein sought to maximize their growth in their respective endeavors during this interplanar conflict.

The pursuit of knowledge and truth was endless, with the extent of one’s potential forever shrouded in mystery.

***

For mages of Rank Four and above, this interplanar war served as both a training ground and an opportunity to amass resources on a grand scale.

However, for Anridar, the native Rank Five creature of the Viridian Venom Flame World, the war’s outbreak was its catastrophic fall from grace.

The situation had become so dire that escape from its homeplane was nearly impossible, even if it wanted to.

That evil Rank Five mage from the Magus Civilization had his eyes on it while the weaker Rank Four mage lurked like a venomous viper, poised to strike at any moment.

The overwhelming might of the Magus Civilization left Anridar feeling powerless, its vitality ebbing away with each new wound.

Anridar foresaw that even hidden within the lava sea, should the Magus Civilization Army fully conquer the eastern and western continents, the planar will and the rules governing this world would be further diminished. Consequently, that dreadfully formidable Rank Five elemental giant would plunge into the lava sea and crack its skull open.

“No! I can’t continue waiting! You all must act now, or I’ll detonate the volcano beneath the lava sea of the Viridian Venom Flame World. All your precious constructed mechas will be destroyed along with this world!” Anridar raged from the depths of the lava sea, driven by a touch of madness.

One of its eyes, ablaze with venomous flame, had been completely crushed by the Rank Five mage earlier.

Despite being a mage, Gregory was even more brutal than some Rank Five knights.

In front of Anridar, a green metal screen, that did not seem to belong to the Viridian Venom Green Flame, flickered ominously.

On the screen, several yellow-skinned humanoid creatures with an oval bump on their forehead exchanged glances with each other.

In the end, the tallest among them said, “Fine, we’ll accelerate our plans. Hopefully, that Rank Six creature from the Magus World has departed from there.”